Cluster decay half-lives and preformation probabilities

An improved semi-analytic approach to the barrier penetration probability is developed in the frame work of the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin (WKB) approximation. It is used to calculate decay half-lives and preformation probabilities for a set of 304 cluster emitters in the range 87 ≤ Z ≤ 96 and a set of 390 α-emitters in the range 52 ≤ Z ≤ 120. For cluster decay, the validity of our approach is tested against Coulomb and proximity potential model (CPPM) by comparing decay half-lives and barrier penetration probabilities. Our results are found to be in a good agreement with CPPM calculations and with the available experimental data. In case of α-decay, our calculations are tested against the experimental data and also a very good agreement is achieved. In both cases, results are also compared with calculations of some other well known universal decay laws that are used in many recent studies. Our approach shows a better agreement with experimental data than most of the other models. Our study is extended to calculate the assault frequency and preformation probability of the cluster inside the parent nucleus. A strong correlation is obtained for all these parameters with each other. Neutron shell closures are found to be more important in the cluster decay process than proton shell closure. It is also noted that the odd–even staggering behavior dominates the decay processes involving the emission of clusters with odd neutron number.